
Overview
If you are contemplating a career in the museum and gallery sector and if you want to understand contemporary debates about museums and their cultural significance, then this is the course for you.
Museums have been of enormous importance in shaping empires, nations and cities, and their collections are connected to wider histories of conflict and social change. To study museums is to study the development and fierce contestation of our collective cultural imagination and memory.
The Postgraduate Diploma in Museum Cultures (Part-Time) at Birkbeck, University of London gives you the chance to develop a range of key skills, from critical thinking and writing to practical experience through a supervised work placement in a museum, gallery or archive. Previous work placements have been offered at the Tate, the British Museum, the Whitechapel Gallery and the Horniman Museum. Past students have helped design and run schools programmes, documented collections that were previously uncatalogued, conducted visitor research and assisted curators in producing exhibitions. As well as regular gallery and museum visits, we also offer an exciting study trip abroad every spring.
You begin with a core course that introduces interdisciplinary perspectives on the study of museums and a research skills module where you work collaboratively with your classmates. You then take two options in areas of specialist interest and either an independent research project or a work placement in a museum, gallery or archive.
The Postgraduate Diploma is ideal if you are interested in studying museum cultures at postgraduate level for personal or professional reasons, but you don't want to commit to a full MA.
Careers and Employability
Our students develop the ability to think critically and creatively, and to articulate their ideas persuasively. Intellectual rigor, visual sensitivity and informed debate are fundamental to museum studies, as well as being transferable skills relevant to a range of careers. Graduates can pursue jobs in arts management, conservation and policy; in education, marketing and publishing; in the museums and heritage sectors; and in research and academia.
Get more details
Visit official programme websiteProgramme Structure
Courses Include:
- Art Museums in a Global Age
- Curating as Critical Practice
- Curating Difficult Histories: Museums, Exhibitions, Art Activism
- Exhibiting the Body
- Museums, Memory and National Identity
Check out the full curriculum
Visit official programme websiteKey information
Duration
- Part-time
- 24 months
Start dates & application deadlines
- StartingApply anytime.
You are strongly advised to apply now, to ensure there are still places on your chosen course and to give you time to complete the admissions process.
Language
Credits
Delivered
Disciplines
Area & Cultural Studies Art History Museum Studies View 78 other Masters in Museum Studies in United KingdomExplore more key information
Visit official programme websiteAcademic requirements
English requirements
Other requirements
General requirements
- A second-class honours degree in a relevant subject or equivalent (for example, professional experience).
- A written exercise or sample undergraduate essay is required and applicants may be interviewed.
- We will review every postgraduate application to Birkbeck on its individual merits and your professional qualifications and/or relevant work experience will be taken into consideration positively. We actively support and encourage applications from mature learners.
- On your application form, please list all your relevant qualifications and experience, including those you expect to achieve.
- You do not need to have completed your current qualification to start your application.
Make sure you meet all requirements
Visit official programme websiteTuition Fee
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International
7600 GBP/yearTuition FeeBased on the original amount of 7600 GBP per year and a duration of 24 months. -
EU/EEA
4175 GBP/yearTuition FeeBased on the original amount of 4175 GBP per year and a duration of 24 months.
- Part-time home/EU students, Year 2: £1400 pa
- Part-time international students, Year 2: £2550 pa
Funding
Studyportals Tip: Students can search online for independent or external scholarships that can help fund their studies. Check the scholarships to see whether you are eligible to apply. Many scholarships are either merit-based or needs-based.